Heaven and Hell: Battle for the Jewel of Earth
by Maximum Poofy
Summary: Harry had never been normal right? well he's about to find out just how NOT normal he is with the help of his mothers journals and an old friend whose definitely out of the norm. SLASH! r&r peoples.
1. My Savior, the Demon Prince

A/N: HELLO!! Anyhoo, this is the first chapter of the rewrite. It's quite different but I like it like this. I was thinking about not putting this up until I got back to where I left off but I figured since this is a lot different from the original, why not? I'll leave the other version up though, at least until I get this to chapter 3 or 4. Now, on to the show!

Heaven and Hell: Battle for the Jewel of Earth.

Chapter One: My Savior, The Demon Prince.

He sat in his cupboard, curled up in the corner of the small, suffocating space, shivering. The Dursley's had completely cleaned out the cupboard of everything. His school things were in the basement; the little cot that use to be in there was gone, everything. All he had was the wooden floor, the plastered walls and a little spider to keep him company.

It hurt just for him to move. After what he did to Aunt Marge last summer, they had been furious for being embarrassed and for him having the audacity to do such a thing. Even to this day he never regretted it and even told that to Uncle Vernon, earning him a particularly nasty beating. These beatings became frequent until _breathing_ was an incredible feat to accomplish. He was sure several of his ribs were broken and he _knew_ that his right arm was broken. His back was on fire from the gashes of a butcher knife, uncle Vernon pulled on him and moving his legs caused extreme pain. His throat burned and ached something horrible. It was raw from all the screaming he had done at one point and several others. Now, whenever Vernon did something that caused for him to scream, he was silent. He had screamed his voice away.

He jumped slightly, wincing at the movement, at the sound of heavy boots walking down the hall. They weren't from Uncle Vernon or Dudley because heavy breathing would accompany them and who ever it was, was being frighteningly silent, aside from the boots. His glasses-less eyes were wide in the dark of his cupboard as the person stopped at the door to the cupboard.

" . . .Harry?" Came a voice. Harry's heart sped up. He knew he recognized that voice but he hadn't heard it in so long. Harry tried to say something but all that came out was a wheeze and a wet cough. Then the Cupboard door was yanked open and a pair of familiar, glowing reddish, yellow-orange eyes that reminded him of flames, appeared. " Fucking hell." The man cursed angrily. " Don't worry, Harry. I'm getting you outta here." The man said in a gentler voice.

Harry smiled gratefully before submitting to blissful darkness.

~HaH~

Harry woke up with the sun gleaming in his eyes and the breeze tickling his skin, cooling him off from the hot of the sun. He yawned and opened his eyes and blinked in surprise. He stared up through the tall trees of some forest, at the fluffy clouds that went by before sitting up, gasping when he noticed the absence of a familiar pain. His ribs had been completely healed, much to his surprise. He lifted up the clean white shirt he was wearing to see nothing but a couple of dark bruises around his ribs. He was skinny enough that his ribs could be seen and they didn't look grotesquely out of place like before. They were normal.

He moved his right arm around; noticing no pains, only stiffness, and the bone wasn't even jutting out of his skin like before. The gashes in his back didn't seem to be there either, nor the ones on his thighs and legs, though, he could see faint scars on his legs since he was wearing a pair of shorts. He smiled, the first one since summer began.

' Maybe my voice works . . .' He thought. He tried to speak but still, all he got was a series of wheezes. He slumped his shoulders in disappointment. ' Will I _ever_ get my voice back?'

" Hey, what's with the long face?" A deep voice asked. Harry's head snapped up and his eyes widened in recognition of the person who had just come from out of the forests. He stood around 6'3 at least, an inch taller than Snape. He had slightly tanned skin and chin length white/silver hair. The narrow, fire-like eyes were now an ice blue color but glittered with friendliness, something Harry hadn't seen since school let out. He had a rather pointed nose and thin lips that made him look dangerous and sexy, definitely not cute. The man wore a long, heavy, dark red trench coat, which buttoned to the waist and the rest of it left flapping open in the wind. The man's legs were clad in black leather with two gun holsters on either hip. He had knee high boots the same color as his gloves, which were black. On his back was a giant sword with what looked like devil wings as a hilt.

Harry grinned, wishing he could have screamed out his joy for the man he hadn't seen in what seemed like forever. 

' Dante.' He thought happily.

' Hey, kid.' Harry jumped in surprise at hearing his voice in his head. Dante chuckled a little, kneeling next to Harry. ' Forgot our little telepathic connection existed, eh?' Harry nodded sheepishly. ' Well . . .looks like we're gonna have to use it until you get your voice back.' Dante said, a spark of anger appearing in his eyes. ' Remind me to kill those sorry excuses for humans later, alright?' Dante said, gently brushing some hair from Harry's still bruised face.

' Whatever.' Harry said, rolling his eyes. ' Where have you been?' Harry asked sadly. ' You were gone forever!'

' In Vedli Haven, one of many demon realms. Time there is so damn slow, it only seemed like a month or two had passed since I left not . . .' Dante said, he looked over Harry. ' Five years, you're what, 13?' Harry nodded. ' I'm sorry, kid. I shouldn't have left without at least finding some way to check on you. I might have been able to prevent this.'

' Don't blame yourself because I don't.' Harry smiled sadly at him and Dante nodded, sitting down across from the boy. ' But thanks for getting me out of there when you did. One more day and I'd have been dead.' 

' No problem.' Dante smirked. ' After all, it _is_ your birthday.' Harry's eyes widened.

' Really? I completely forgot.' Dante laughed a bit, before pulling out all of the presents he had put in Harry's trunk (that he rescued from the Dursley's.) ' So I see you go to Hogwarts now.' Dante said, handing Harry one of the presents.

' Yeah. I just finished my third year.' Harry told him proudly, tearing at the snitch wrapping paper.

' You doin' good?' Harry nodded. ' I thought so. You're parents were the same way.'

' Um . . .I do well in pretty much everything but History of Magic, Divination and Potions. History is terribly boring, Professor Trelawney is a fraud and Professor Snape hates me.' He said grimly. Harry opened the box and looked at all the joke paraphernalia with curiosity. He knew it was from the twins. In their letter, they told him to use them wisely, in other words, hit unsuspecting people at random opportune times.

' Snape eh? I remember him. Greasy guy who looks like he got smacked with one too many bludgers?' Dante grinned. Harry laughed but no sound came out, making him annoyed.

' Yeah, that's him.' Harry said, taking the next gift Dante handed him. ' He's got a grudge against my dad or something. I think it had to do with that dumb prank Sirius pulled on him one time.' Dante raised a thin white eyebrow.

' Who's Sirius?' He asked. Harry didn't answer straight away because he was opening his present from Sirius and Remus. They had given him several journals of his mothers and a little wooden box with, Lilies; feathers and a sun that looked like it had horns growing out of it, on the box. Harry opened it and gaped at the bracelet inside. It must have belonged to his mother because it was too feminine for his father, he was sure. It was made of pure crystal that glowed slightly and hummed with a faint melody that he couldn't quite catch because it was so low. The crystal wasn't just a plain band bracelet either. The crystal was woven like a braid.

' It's beautiful.' Harry thought.

' Yeah, and strangely familiar.' Dante added with a frown. He couldn't quite place where he had seen the bracelet before. Harry looked at him with a hint of worry.

' It's not dangerous is it?'

' No, it's perfectly fine. Put it on.' Harry pouted.

' But it's for a _girl_.' Harry said with a pointed look. Dante smirked.

' And you could pass as a girl if you wanted.' Harry lightly smacked him on the shoulder, earning a broad grin with pointed canines showing through. Harry slipped it over his thin wrist anyway and jumped slightly when it shrank a bit to fit his wrist snuggly. Harry saddened, knowing that he must have been dreadfully thin if it had to _shrink_, from his mother's size to his own. Dante noticed this and sneered slightly, feeling the urge to go and kill those Dursley's _now_.

' Here, open the rest of these and then we can talk a bit.' Dante said. Harry nodded.

His present from the other Weasley's was a great birthday cake, completely chocolate with flashing green icing spelling out his name and saying Happy Birthday. From Ron he received a self-updating Defense against the Dark Arts book. Last year he had started showing a complete and total interest in defending himself. He felt as if he'd need it. From Hermione he received an emerald green t-shirt with find the Snitch on the front, a picture of a magically animated Snitch in place of the word. He also received a pair of jeans. Both articles of clothing would have fit perfectly had he not have lost so much weight.

' We'll have to build that weight right back up.' Dante said thoughtfully. ' I can't have my favorite little person being scrawny.'

' Hey, I am _not_ little.' Harry glared. Dante raised an eyebrow as if to say ' oh _really_?' Harry had barely grown since Dante last saw him. He was only 5'5 1/2, below average for a boy his age. 

' So . . .now that the presents are out of the way, why don't you tell me who this Sirius person is.' Dante said.

' Well, It turns out that he's my Godfather.' Harry said. He went into the whole story of how Sirius was wrongfully convicted and set up and how he escaped the wizarding prison to kill the real perpetrator and finally see his Godson. He told him how he and his best friend Hermione used a time turner to help save Sirius and the Hippogriff. 

' Well _that's_ interesting.' Dante said. ' Care to tell me about your first two years?' 

' You're in for a long and bumpy ride then.' Harry smirked.

' I _live_ for the bumpy.'

' You are _so_ corny.'

~HaH~ 2 weeks later.

They were still in the little clearing of the forests just relaxing and catching up. Dante gave Harry a late birthday present, some time ago, which consisted of a lot of new clothing and a package he told him not to open until October 31st. 

The two weeks after Dante rescued Harry, were spent trying to get his weight back up and strengthening his weak body. He was now well enough to walk; having been rather weak kneed the first time he tried, on his Birthday. He still couldn't speak. Dante figured his voice was damaged from the strangling and all the screaming but it wasn't permanent. He just had to rest his voice for a while.

At the moment, Harry was relaxing by a river; his khaki pants were rolled up to the knees while he stuck his feet into the cool water. He slightly kicked his feet and sighed, running a hand through his longish black hair that practically covered his eyes.

Dante had run off somewhere, for some reason or other. He understood that the man was busy but he really didn't want to be left alone. It was probably the only thing he feared, being alone.

' Dante will never leave me.' Harry thought. ' He'll always be there and he'll always come back.' He smiled. He stood up and yawned, stretching like a cat. He heard a few bones in his back crack and he grinned in contentment.

" Gotcha!" Harry made a noise of surprise when he was suddenly pushed into the cool river. When he surface, Dante let out a loud laugh at the drowned cat look Harry was sporting. 

' That was _not_ funny.' Harry sent angrily.

" Of course it was, love." Dante said. He extended a hand for Harry, which the boy gratefully took. Harry would have tried to pull Dante in but the man was not only too strong for him but constantly on his guard, even if it didn't seem like it. Dante pulled Harry out, effortlessly, and grabbed the towel he brought from off the ground. " Sorry about that, really. I just wanted to see your face." Dante said, wrapping the shivering boy up in the big downy towel.

' Yeah, you sadistic--'

" Hey, watch your mouth." Dante said gently. He knew from experiences that accosting Harry with even fake anger gave him flashbacks of that bastard uncle of his.

' So, where'd you go?' Harry asked as they headed back to their campsite.

' Went to visit a family in Surrey.' He said, switching to telepathy. Harry gave him a sharp, suspicious look.

' What did you do.' Harry demanded. 

' Nothing they didn't deserve.' Dante's smirk turned into a wicked grin, one that brought the demon out in him.

~HaH~ #4 Privet Drive, August 16th 

Remus, Severus and Albus, were all, shocked beyond words upon reaching Privet Drive to take Harry to Hogwarts early. The simple and plain home was frighteningly quiet. There looked like there was a struggle in the hallway. The cupboard door was hanging off by a hinge and there was a trail of blood from it to the front door. There was dried, muddy boot prints leading from the front door, to upstairs, back downstairs and to the living room.

" What the hell happened here." Remus whispered. He sniffed the air a bit. " It smells like fear and pain." He said worriedly, walking towards the living room where he stopped cold.

" What is it, Remus?" Albus said, fearing the worst. He and Severus walked up beside Remus and stared in confusion at the Dursley's. They appeared to be just sitting in front of the T.V, watching it but several things were wrong with this picture. One, the T.V wasn't on, Two; they were still in their pajamas in the middle of the day. They smelled as if they hadn't changed clothes nor washed in a while. Also, there was no sign of movement from them, except for harsh breathing so they knew they weren't dead.

" What's wrong with them?" Remus asked when Severus walked up to observe them. He checked their glazed eyes and their pulses, noticing the clammy, grayish skin. Severus frowned.

" Someone's given them a poison." He told them. 

" What does it do, Severus?" Albus asked, the twinkle in his eye was gone. 

" It causes you to live through a traumatic experience, not necessarily your own, and the pain that was felt before is now felt 20 times worse than originally." He said grimly. Remus paled. " They've been under for at least two or three days. I don't think there's any chance of them coming out of this sane."

" Could Deatheaters . . ." Remus trailed off at the prospect of Harry having gone through this and then taken away. Severus shook his head and walked back over to them.

" No, this isn't a human made potion." Severus said. " The only reason why I even know what potion was used is because I know the man who modified it to be as worse as it is." He sneered. 

" Who?" Albus asked.

" Dante."

" Do you mean that man, James and Lily use to hang around with all the time?" Remus asked. Severus nodded. " Don't tell me he kidnapped, Harry. I remember he use to be so gentle with him when he was born. Lily even told me it was impossible for him to harm Harry in any way!" The Marauders had met Dante sometime in their third year but Lily had known the man since she was a small child. He looked to be somewhere in his early thirties but his hair was strangely white. From that time to the time Harry had been born the man had never changed or aged, bringing them to the conclusion that could be a vampire. Dante had always been a cold and distant man, except with Lily and Harry when he was born but with everyone else, it was like he didn't trust them. When Lily and James were killed, he disappeared and none of them had ever seen him since.

" I didn't say he did anything to Potter, I know he can't." He added quietly. Remus still heard him and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. " I'm just saying that he poisoned the Dursley's for what ever reasons, I don't know." 

" Well then," Albus said quietly. " We should split up and check the house for any signs of Harry." Just then a small pop sounded from the middle of the living room. Each wizard had his wands extended at the small devil like creature.

" What is that?" Remus asked cautiously. 

" I've never seen it before, don't think I know _all_ the answers." Snape scowled. Albus extended his hand for the creature. " Albus, what are you doing?" Severus sputtered. " It could be dangerous!"

" Lighten up, my dear boy. It's but a harmless messenger." Albus said. The small creature made a noise of appreciation and rested on his hand, being no bigger than two of his fingers. The creature dropped a note in his hand before saluting and popping away. The old man un-scrolled the letter, which looked to have been too much for the poor little messenger to carry.

" What does it say?" Remus asked. Albus began to read aloud. 

_Sorry if I've made you wizards run amuck looking for Harry. I had only been gone for 5 years when I return to find him practically dead in a _cupboard_ of all places. If you idiots weren't going to do anything then I sure as hell wasn't going to wait for you to do something. He was in a terrible shape when I found him and I fixed him up as best as I could. I'll bring him to Hogwarts on August 30th but don't expect me to leave him there. I'm staying whether you like it or not._

Oh and don't worry about those Dursley's. They deserve every bit of what they're getting. No one will miss them anyway.

Dante.

" What a cruel man." Albus said thoughtfully. 

" And you're just going to allow, Potter to stay with him until the 30th?" Severus snapped. " Who knows how much he's changed since we last saw him." He knew Dante as well, though not as well as Lily and the Marauders. He and Dante had a sort of potions feud going on where they'd try to out do each other with their potions skills. Some of the potions used today, like the de-petrification (is that what it's called?) potion was created by Dante and Snape created the potion used to relieve the effects of the Cruciatus himself.

" Not much, I assure you." Dumbledore said. " I met with a friend of his just last week. She's known him for quite some time and has told me that he's still the same old Dante we remember, if a little soft-hearted." Severus snorted.

" That man has a heart of black diamonds, Albus. Him going soft is like saying Fudge will finally admit he's a complete waste of space."

" Hm, you never know." Albus smiled.

" What I'm worried about is why Harry was in such a terrible condition." Remus said, causing Dumbledore's smile to drop. " Now that I think about it, Harry told me that the Dursley's use to make him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs." Remus said grimly, looking back at that cupboard. " Ron even told me that he and his brothers had to break him out of the room the Dursley's finally gave him. The windows had _bars_ on them."

" What kind of people . . ." Snape muttered under his breath. 

" Not the kind of people you've fooled yourself into believing they were." Remus snapped, eyes glowing in his wolfish anger. Snape didn't even have the decency to look apologetic. Instead, he sneered.

" Well at least I can see where Potter gets his arrogance and disregard for other people from." He smirked.

" Why you--" Remus pointed his wand at the ex-Deatheater, intent on wiping that smirk off his face. Snape raised his own wand.

" Gentlemen!" Dumbledore said sternly, eyes disappointed and cold. " You are _not_ children anymore and as adults I _expect_ you to _act_ like them." The two men, lowered their wands, glaring daggers at each other all the while. Remus sighed and looked away from Snape. He gave an apologetic smile towards the old headmaster.

" I'm sorry Albus, I just can't stand it when people assume Harry's something he's obviously not. He told me how the Dursley's use to treat him and I almost had half a mind to come here and do in with them myself." He said quietly. Albus nodded in understanding.

" Apology accepted, Remus. Now, I believe we should clean up this little mess and see if we can do something about those Dursley's. It wouldn't do well for the muggle police to find them like this." 

~HaH~

It was sometime in the middle of the night when Harry awoke because of another nightmare. They always left him particularly shaken up only this time, he felt strangely comforted and calm. He soon realized that this was because he was curled up in Dante's arms. He had always felt safe with Dante. He never was really able to spend time with Dante when he was younger but the man had a way of being there even though he wasn't physically present and because of that, all his scary childhood nightmares had become non-existent.

Harry looked up into Dante's sleeping face. He smiled a little, noticing how even in his sleep, Dante was on guard. He could tell by the tenseness in the mans face and the semi loose hold he had on him. He sighed softly so as not to alert the man. He sometimes wished Dante would just relax once in his life. Surely sleep was a time to relax?

" Why are you staring at me?" The man mumbled, opening one eye. Harry smiled sleepily.

' Just wondering why you're always so tense.' Harry said. Dante opened the other eye.

' You know that answer already, Har. Demon Hunters _get_ no rest. Not while _their_ still out there, murdering, plotting and the likes.' 

' Yeah . . .I guess.' Harry sighed again, snuggling up to the man.

' I am _not_ you're teddy bear.' Dante said half-heartily. In truth, he kind of enjoyed the attention.

' Well, now you are.' Harry yawned, drifting off again. ' Thanks for saving me from my dreams.' He whispered in Dante's head before finally nodding off again.

' No problem kid.'

~HaH~

'So I'm leaving tomorrow?' Harry said disappointedly. He really didn't want to leave so soon. This passed month had probably been the best thing since finding out he was a wizard. 

" I'm going _with_ you, you know." Dante said, packing all of the stuff they had left lying around. Harry perked up.

' Really?' Dante nodded.

" I sent a letter to your headmaster about why you weren't with the Dursley's and that I'd be coming back with you, to stay." 

' That's a relief.' Harry smiled. ' I thought you were going to leave me again.' 

' You know, I'd never leave you if I had a choice in it.' Dante told him. ' You're to precious to me.' He thought to himself. He turned to Harry when he didn't receive a comment. ' What?' He asked, noticing the bright blush on the boy's cheeks as he packed up his trunk. ' Oh . . .I didn't close the link did I?' Harry shook his head. ' Damn.'

' It's okay. At least I know you care.' He said, putting the books he received in the trunk. ' Say, are you going to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher then?' Harry asked.

' Like hell I am.' He snorted. ' Me and a bunch of kids don't go well, Har. You should know, you're the only one I can stand. Well, you and your parents back when they were in school.' He said.

' What were they like in school?' Harry asked curiously.

" Completely in love, that's what." He said, stopping the packing to sit next to Harry. Harry stopped as well. " At first, they hated each other. Your father was an arrogant, big-headed idiot when he was younger." Harry frowned.

' That's what Snape said.'

" The only thing that idiot ever got right." He told Harry. " You're mother was the most soft-hearted woman I've ever met, which isn't many but you get what I mean." He said. " She had a violent temper though. It completely put James in his place a few times. She was brilliant as well. She not only knew almost everything about magic but she knew all kinds of languages from Chinese Mandarin to Elfish. She was also a fighter. She studied every style of martial arts possible and was more than skilled with the sword and the bow. You could _never_ call her helpless. She was perfectly capable of defending herself, something that James loved in your mother."

" Lily was the one who tamed James into a kinder person and taught him how to fight. It was useful while he was an Auror, after they married. He was the best damn Auror the ministry had ever seen." Dante said, feeling a bit of pride. He'd never tell Harry but he had taught Lily everything she knew and she had passed on her skill. He didn't want to tell the boy because he was much older than he looked, so much older . . .

' It's good to finally hear something about them.' Harry said contentedly. ' It's a shame I didn't ask sooner.'

" You know, you look a lot like your mother." Dante said. Harry looked surprised.

' Most people say I look like my father.'

" Maybe you did but there's a lot of your mother coming out in you, besides your eyes." He said. It was true too. Lily had been a petite girl, probably the same height as Harry was. She was very curvy and slightly more muscled than a regular woman because of her martial arts was. Harry would probably have that build if he trained, though he'd be taller eventually and not as curvy since he _was_ male. He was still a bit curvier than a regular male, adding a cat-like elegance to his body that especially showed when he stretched. He had his mothers facial structure as well, where James had a square-like jaw; Lily's had been more rounded. She had also been pale; much like Harry was while James was tanned and broad. 

' I'm glad.' Harry said. ' I don't hear enough about her.'

" I could tell you more if you want?" Dante offered. Harry grinned broadly and nodded enthusiastically.

' Yes! Wo--' He was cut off by a loud roaring sound, not far from where they were. Dante quickly stood, pulling the Giant sword from off his back. It began to crackle with a bluish purple light. ' What is it?' Harry asked worriedly.

' Blood lions.' Was the answer he got. Harry stood slowly behind the man as crashes sounded from in front of them. Harry jumped in terror at the three, giant beasts that crashed into the clearing. They were at least 8 or 9 feet in height. They reminded him of the Hulk only dark blue with a lion's head and mane that went down it's muscled back and to it's thick tail that had spikes protruding from it. Its claws, both on its feet and hands, were black and wicked sharp. Their eyes were wild and held only one emotion.

Bloodlust. 

' What are we going to do?' Harry said desperately.

' _I'm_ going to deal with these idiots while _you_ run. There should be a cave off to the right. Do you think you could make it there?' Dante asked. 

' I--I think so.' He hadn't tried running and wasn't sure if his legs were up to it.

' Harry, when I say go, run like hell.' Dante said, eyeing the beasts with hatred. For a few minutes there was complete silence, expect for the heaving breathing and snarling of the Blood Lions. When the beasts, which were too stupid to realize they were there in the first place, started sniffing the air, finally catching their scent, Dante got into a stance, holding his giant sword with ease. ' GO!' 

Harry quickly ran off to the right, too afraid to even look back. He seemed to be running faster than he ever had in his life. After two minutes of non-stop running he finally slowed down to catch his breath. He wasn't used to such exertion. He was bent over, gulping in air and clutching at the stitch in his side. Unfortunately, his rest wasn't a long one because soon after, angry roaring and giant stomping came his way, shaking the ground. 

' Oh no.' He whined. He began running again; desperately hoping he could hide in that cave that was supposed to be around. He knew the Blood Lion was gaining on him, those things could probably run a mile in 10 bounds. Harry's sides were starting to cramp and he could feel himself slowing down, as he grew tired. He didn't dare turn around; he didn't need to do that to know how close they were.

' You'd think someone was out to get me.' He thought to himself. ' Voldemort, Uncle Vernon . . .now _these_ things.' He let out a strangled yell when he felt something painfully scrape against his back and side. He hadn't realized those things were _that_ close! His pain filled eyes just barely spotted the cave on the other side of a cliff. He then saw the flimsy looking wooden bridge with worn rope and termite bitten wooden planks. ' Oh Great.' Harry thought sarcastically.

He hesitated for the barest second at the start of the bridge. He wasn't sure what was worse, being eaten alive by a giant lion-thing or falling to his death because of a rickety ol' bridge that couldn't even hold his meager weight. He looked behind him to see the beast breaking down trees in its haste to reach him and decided to chance it with the bridge. It was terribly shaking and creaked like an old man's joints as he hurried across it. He made the mistake of looking back somewhere in the middle of the bridge when he heard the monsters angry cry. The Blood Lion threw it's head back, something dark gathering in its mouth, before its head flew back forward and a giant ball of dark matter flew towards him. Harry slowly turned towards it, knowing that there was _no_ way he could avoid that thing on the bridge.

He closed his eyes, hoping for a miracle or Dante, _something_. He opened his eyes, however, when he didn't feel any pain or impact. He gasped at the ball, which was floating in front of him, only inches, from his face. He blinked and noticed that his hand was outstretched, shaking slightly. The bracelet on his hand was glowing brightly, encasing his hand in a white glow.

' Wh--what's this?'

****

Snap

Harry's eyes darted to the ropes, which were burning, from the touch of the matter and his fear grew again. ' Oh shit.' He thought. He had to do something, _anything_. He closed his eyes again and felt himself pushing the matter away from him and back at the beast that was too slow to move out of the way. It was soon burned up, fried and dead by it's own attack.

And so was the bridge.

' Bad idea!' Harry said, turning to continue running across the bridge to safety. He did a running leap and just _barely_ reached the other side where he teetered on the edge. He pin wheeled his arms to try and balance himself and nearly did fall if it weren't for two hands, holding him up from under his arms.

" You've got a lot of bad luck, kid." Dante said, sounding strangely different and yet the same. Dante righted him and steered him to the cave mouth.

' Thanks Dante.' Harry said in relief. He sighed a bit before turning around. ' I--er . . .' He blinked in surprise at Dante who looked nothing like the man he knew. He was an entirely black entity with sparks of blue electricity dancing around his skin. He only had shape and no real detail to his unclothed body. His hair was a dark gray color and stood on end, looking a lot like a broom. His eyes were a burning red, the only thing familiar about him besides the duel voice he was using but what also caught Harry's eyes were the currently folded demon wings on the mans back. ' I've never seen you're full demon form before.' Harry said in awe.

' And here I thought you'd be scared.' Dante said. 

' Me? Scared of you? Not likely.' He smiled.

' Anyways,' He popped out of devil mode, returning to his usual, everyday self, before leading Harry into the cave. ' You need to get your wounds treated before they get infected. Afterwards, we'll head to Hogwarts, early. Those Blood Lions weren't here by accident.'

~HaH~

After Harry was treated, they indeed set out for Hogwarts. Dante had told him that it wasn't far away so they didn't need to use Dante's other form to fly.

' So were we camped at?' Harry asked, about 15 minutes after they started walking.

' In the Forbidden Forest.'

' WHAT!?' Harry stopped in his tracks. 

' What? It was the forest I could take you too. I sure as hell wasn't going to take you to a demon realm. Besides, we were in the most docile part of the forest where no Acromantula's or werewolves could get us. Not to mention I put up some wards laced with my demon signature. Nothing in the Forest would _want_ to come near us.' He smirked.

' Except those Blood Lions.' Harry said flatly.

' They have the brain capacity of a fly, Har. They only think about food and that's it. Look, we're almost there, lets keep walking.' Dante said. The rest of the journey was pretty silent. They were both tired, Harry from all the running and Dante . . .well he wasn't really tired. He was actually kind of content. He _was_ half demon and he loved fighting. He just wished he hadn't gotten so carried away. Had he been any slower, Harry would probably be splat at the bottom of the canyon.

' Hey, do you have Hedwig and all of my stuff?' Harry asked worriedly. He was so busy trying to listen to Dante that he completely forgot all about Hedwig. She'd probably never forgive him, especially when she had to find him in the forest after Dante took him out. She didn't find him until just three days ago.

' I let Hedwig out of her cage and told her to fly ahead to Hogwarts somewhere in the beginning of the battle. Her cage is in ruins though. One of them stepped on it.'

' That's a relief.' He sighed.

' Hn. I shrank your stuff and put it in my pocket so no worries.' Harry nodded. After 10 more minutes of walking, they finally reached the edge of the forest. They came out somewhere near the Quidditch pitch.

' Home sweet home.' Harry thought. Dante looked back at him and smiled.

A/n: The first chapter is done of the rewrite! Yay! I know it's a bit different from before but that's because I'm actually thinking it out more. Everett will still be in it and everything so don't worry. This didn't end like the other chapter because, obviously, there's a lot of added stuff. That will be the next chapter with some more stuff. I hope you enjoyed it. I want to give you people something to read because I won't be here next weekend. My family and me won a trip to Virginia at some resort that would normally cost you an arm and a leg but all we gotta pay for is the food. * Cackles * anyhoo, Adios.


	2. Return to Hogwarts

A/n: I'm back! (Dancey dancey!) A good explanation as to where I've been is at the end of chapter 3 in my other story, Love Me Back Together! I hope I haven't lost all you guys, I'd just melt and die and be bipolar.

**Heaven and Hell: Battle for the Jewel of Earth**

_Chapter two: Return to Hogwarts._

* * *

The Order of the Phoenix was having a conference in the Great Hall that evening. It seemed as if the Deatheater activity was raising from an attack once a month to almost 3 attacks a week. For once, Albus was glad Minister Fudge was an idiot and left the attacks out of the Daily Prophet. 

" What are we suppose to do, Albus?" Severus asked. " Avery came to me two days ago, talking about the Dark Lord having been _reborn_." At this little bit of information, everyone in the room gasped.

" You can't be serious, Severus. How is that possible?" Flitwick inquired, after climbing back into the chair he had just fallen out of.

" He didn't give me any details. He only told me to be at the old apparating site. From there we'd portkey to an undisclosed location." He said.

" It could be a trap set for you." Lupin said worriedly. " They could have found out about your switching sides from Wormtail." He said, spitting the name out. None of them knew that Ron's rat had been Wormtail and because of that, he could have been sneaking around anywhere, finding out things that they really wouldn't want him to know. After the incident Sirius was reinstated to the Order after many explanations and convincing.

" That could be a possibility." Albus said. " I don't want you risking it."

" But Albus--"

" You are like a _son_ to me Severus, a son and a _wonderful_ colleague. I don't want to see you dead at such a young age."

" I am _hardly_ young." Snape said, glaring slightly. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

" But to me you are _still_ the same troubled teenager."

" Albus as _much_ as I'd _love _to listen to all about you and Snape's Father-son relationship, I think there are more important tasks at hand." Sirius said irritably. " We still have to figure out what to do with these Deatheater and then there's the issue of Harry." When he had found out about Dante taking his godson off to who knows where, he had been furious. He never trusted that man, not with his life and definitely not with his godsons. Dante was too strange for him; he was unfriendly with _everyone_ but Lily (And sometimes James) and disappeared for months at a time. Sirius made sure he never hung around when Dante was with the Potter family, he'd probably end up cursing the man to oblivion.

" You have a point Sirius." Albus said, nodding a little. " Now--" A few people jumped while some pulled out their wands when the Great Hall's doors were nearly thrown open.

" Dante?" Remus whispered in recognition. He looked over the man who had barely changed since he last saw him. His hair was a bit longer and he wasn't as pale. His outfit was different and the sword was a new addition.

" Whoa . . .is it my birthday or something?" Dante drawled. Albus motioned for the Order to lower their wands and relax.

" Dante, we weren't expecting you and Harry until tomorrow. Did something happen?" He asked worriedly. He may have been an old man who some thought senile but he did notice the tears in the trench coat and who could miss the blood in the man's white hair?

" Yeah, a couple of blood lions is what." Several people gasped loudly. " We're okay though. I dealt with them." He smirked.

" Where's my godson?" Sirius demanded, standing from his seat. He stalked over to the slightly taller man and glared. Dante raised an amused eyebrow. The sound of running footsteps reached their ears.

' Dante didn't I tell you to wait for me?' Harry thought to the man, running into the Great Hall. Dante turned to him.

" Sorry, Har. I was just following my ears." He said. That was when Harry noticed everyone else in the hall. He stopped, halfway hiding behind Dante, and looked at everyone. He noticed Remus, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, the Headmaster, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius and about 10 or 15 other people he didn't know.

Sirius clenched his fists. He would _really_ like to know why his 14-year-old godson was wearing nothing but a long, bloodstained white shirt and a pair of boxers. Harry watched the angry look on his Godfather's face and couldn't help but wonder what he did now.

" Black, will you stop glaring like that?" Dante asked, frowning. He could feel the bit of fear coming off of Harry. He didn't like it. Sirius stopped glaring but not because Dante told him to. It was because of the wide-eyed look he was getting from Harry. Harry hadn't been afraid of him that day in the shack so why was he afraid now?

" Harry, are you okay?" Sirius asked, concerned. Harry nodded, stepping out from behind the tall half demon a bit.

" He needs to get to the infirmary though, I did what I could for him." Dante told them.

" What do you mean, those nasty beasts didn't get to him, did they?" McGonagall asked, appalled. She had never seen a Blood lion in person, only in books and that was enough to make her gag.

" Which ones? The Dursley's or the Blood Lions?" He said darkly. Harry felt his face heat up. It was bad enough that Dante knew how helpless he was against muggles. He didn't need everyone else knowing.

" What do you mean, the Dursley's?" Snape demanded. Harry mentally groaned once he spotted Snape, almost hidden since he was still sitting in his seat. This was the _last_ thing he needed. Why did _Snape_ of all people have to be there?

" What, Dumbledore didn't share the letter I sent?" Dante asked. Snape frowned. He managed to convince himself that Dante had been lying.

" Oh, I always _knew_ those muggles were no good! Putting bars on Harry's windows, not feeding him . . ." Mrs. Weasley rambled. Dante ignored her and the other muttering people. Harry had told him about the bars and he didn't really expect anything less from the Dursley's. After all, they made him live in a cupboard until he was 11.

" Alright then, This meeting is put on hold until tomorrow night." All of the people Harry didn't know left some saying goodbye to him and wishing him well. Soon the only people left in the room were Hogwarts professors, Sirius and Remus. " Let's get you to the infirmary, Hm?" Dumbledore said kindly.

* * *

Remus, Sirius, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, McGonagall, Snape, The Headmaster, Madame Pompfrey, and Dante were all crowded around his bed in the infirmary. He felt small, like a chicken egg amongst dragons. Dumbledore was talking with Pompfrey while Mrs. Weasley refused to stop asking about how he was and whether he needed anything. If he could talk, he probably would have told her to shut up from lack of patience.

" Harry, why won't you say anything?" She finally asked, worriedly, gaining the attention of the others. Dante stopped glaring at Black for a moment to look down at her. He was standing on Harry's other side while she was sitting next to Harry across from him.

" Because he can't." Dante told her. She looked surprise.

" Wh--what happened?" She sputtered.

" I didn't put the Dursley's in hell for nothin'." He smirked. Almost everyone looked appalled by this, except the three who had actually seen the Dursley's and had gotten his letter.

" Is this _true_ Albus?" Minerva asked.

" Yes, my dear. It is." He said, not sounding quite as disappointed or angry as she expected. " It seems as if the Dursley's were abusing Harry." His twinkle dimmed and nearly went out.

" WHAT?" Sirius bellowed, face turning red in his anger. Harry squeaked and jumped nearly a foot off the bed.

" Black if you don't calm the _fuck_ down, I'll throw you out the window." Dante growled dangerously, blue eyes turning to a glowing fire in his anger. Sirius, once again, stopped upon noticing the look on his Godson's face.

" Albus, what did they do that would cause him the use of his voice?" McGonagall asked. Poppy, who had been trying to treat Potter, piped up.

" I would be able to find out if you people would _kindly_ move away from Mr. Potter." She said, glowering at them. They all moved back and watched as she scanned over Harry who was looking at Dante pleadingly.

' This is a nightmare!' Harry thought to Dante. The half-demon smirked. ' And not funny either.' Harry glared.

" What are you smirking at?" Sirius said suspiciously. Dante lazily turned his eyes to him.

" Just something your godson said." He said airily.

" That seems to be a little impossible as Mr. Potter is currently unable to _speak_." Snape sneered.

" Who said it had anything to do with vocal chords, Snape?" He raised a thin white eyebrow.

" Are you saying you and Harry can speak telepathically?" Remus asked, surprised. Dante nodded. He and the werewolf had no problems with each other. Unlike Black, who was a blind Gryffindor, and Snape, who was an untrusting git. Remus understood him almost as much as Lily did. It was something he kept well hidden. The werewolf _knew_ about the connection he, Lily, and James had. He understood it and he accepted it. Maybe it was because of his Lycanthropy or maybe it was the fact that Remus was just that intelligent and trusting.

" We've had this connection since he was about a year old. You have no idea how annoying it is to have baby babble in your head." He said irritably. Harry blushed in embarrassment.

" If you could hear him, how come you didn't save Lily and James on that Halloween?" Sirius asked accusingly. Dante knew this question would pop up sooner or later. After all, no one trusted a demon, half or not, even if they didn't know he was one. A wizard could sense non-human blood but that didn't mean they knew what that person was exactly.

" Take in mind that Harry was only a year old, he couldn't communicate with me when I was all the way in America. It's too far away. " He told them. It was the slight truth. He did go to America and from there he went to Vedli Haven. " Lily wasn't telepathic and James probably didn't have enough time to use his to contact me. Even if he could, there would have been nothing I could do."

" I'm sure an almighty _vampire_ could have done _something_." Sirius spat. Dante snorted.

" Vampire? Where the hell did you get that from?" He almost felt like laughing. He couldn't believe Black had spend so much of his time trying to figure him out and only came up with a false conclusion.

" Then what _are _you?" Minerva asked.

" I'm half demon." Dante said. Everyone but Dumbledore, Pompfrey, Remus and Harry gasped in either horror or shock.

" And you let him in here?" Sirius exclaimed, turning furious eyes on Dumbledore.

" Sirius, you need to understand that Dante has not and will not cause any harm to anyone in this school. He isn't exactly a gentle soul," Harry grinned at that, earning a light glare from the man. " But he isn't evil."

" They are bloodthirsty creatures who only enjoy killing." He spat. " You don't call that _evil?_"

" Hey, I'm only half bloodthirsty creature." Dante smirked. Sirius growled and made a move towards the half-demon. The Headmaster pressed a gentle hand against Sirius' chest to keep him from moving.

" My dear boy, this is no time for fighting and this is no time for prejudices. I know for a fact that Dante has _never_ harmed a human being that didn't deserve it. I think you'll agree with him and me when we say that the Dursley's deserved what they got."

" What does he do for a living if he isn't killing off humans and eating their flesh?" Sirius said, slightly calmer. Harry wrinkled his nose at what his godfather said; trying to ignore Madame Pompfrey who was prodding at his partially healed wound.

' That's sick.' Harry said before Madame Pompfrey shoved a goblet of dreamless-sleep in his hands.

' _Tell_ me about it.' Dante muttered in his head.

" I'm a demon hunter." He said." I track them, fight them, and kill them. Then go home with a wad of money in my pocket." He told them.

" Still a money grubbing bastard I see." Severus said silkily.

" Yeah? And?" Snape scowled at him.

" Gentlemen, if you would _please_ lower your voices?" Pompfrey said, finally finished checking Harry who she had just given a dreamless-sleeping potion.

" How are his injuries, Poppy?" Remus asked.

" Mr. . . .uh, Dante has done one heck of a job in fixing him up." She said, smiling slightly. " I cleaned him up a bit and healed his bruises. I did the best I could with that gash from the Blood Lion. It was already partially healed, thanks to Dante, but there's nothing I can do about the scar it will leave." She said.

" That's just fine, Poppy. All that matters is that he is alive." Albus said softly. She nodded in agreement.

" About his throat . . ." She started. " It seems as if he were strangled numerous times." Most of everyone in the room looked sick at this. " It's healing nicely but I'd like him to continue using that Telepathy as much as possible. I don't want him wearing down on his already fragile throat. It could damage it further so no yelling and no talking for long periods of times. It would do well if one of you would tell him that when he awakens." Dumbledore nodded and sighed a bit.

" I think it is time we leave Mr. Potter to rest. I believe we _too_ need to catch up on some much needed rest." Dumbledore said, turning and leaving the infirmary.

* * *

Harry woke up to the sun beaming through the window. He groaned at the bright light and turned away, intent on getting some more sleep. However, his sleep was interrupted by the sound of someone's laughter. He opened an eye and gave a one eyed glare to whoever it was who was laughing. 

" Good morning, sunshine." Dante grinned.

'_Good_ morning? Wake me up tomorrow and it _might_ be good.' Harry said crankily, closing his eye again. Dante snorted.

" Sorry, kid but you _have_ to get up. That old fool wants to speak with you and then you're going to get some breakfast. After that, I'm taking you to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies. Maybe you can meet up with those friends of yours." Harry perked up at this. He had almost forgotten all about Ron and Hermione. They hadn't exactly written to him since his birthday and when they did, they were always talking about each other. Harry was a little put down because of this but he had known that they liked each other, he could almost _smell_ it on them and was happy for them if they got together.

' Fine, then just let me get dressed, okay?' Harry yawned, sitting up.

Harry hopped out of the infirmary bed and grabbed his clean clothes from Dante and headed towards the bathroom.

" Hey, Harry, is it a little breezy in here or what?" Harry blinked and turned back towards Dante with confusion.

' Huh?'

" Close your _gown_." Harry meeped and hurriedly closed the thing before scampering off to the bathroom. Dante chuckled. ' Cute . . .'

* * *

Harry, still blushing in embarrassment, walked out of the bathroom, freshly showered. He was dressed in a white t-shirt with a big black star on it and black jeans that actually fit him. He even had a new pair of white sneakers. Harry walked up to Dante who was stretching slightly, looking just as refreshed as himself, dressed in his usual outfit, only free of blood and tears. He noticed Harry's reddened cheeks and smirked. 

" Be glad it was only _me_ looking at your ass and not Snape." He said. Harry blushed even more at the thought of _Snape_ looking at his arse. Harry glared up at Dante.

' And what, exactly, did you think you were doing, looking at my butt?' Dante blinked; surprised that he actually let that slip.

" Nevermind that, we got to go see your headmaster." Dante said, walking away. Harry pouted but followed the older man. " Oh yeah, " Dante said, once in the hallway. " Madame Pompfrey said you are allowed to speak," Harry's eyes lit up at the prospect of actually speaking. He hated being so quiet, especially at night. He used to speak to himself in whispers, just voicing his thoughts, so that he wouldn't feel so lonely at the Dursley's. " But you can't speak excessively or yell at all. It would damage your voice permanently."

" I . . .should thank her." Harry said aloud. His voice was hoarse from disuse but he was glad he could at least make a sound now.

" Hm . . .Yeah." Dante said as they came upon the Gargoyle that led to the Headmaster's office. " Snickers." Dante said. The Gargoyle leaped aside and they rode the spiraling staircases upwards.

' How does he even _know_ about Snickers?' Harry wondered to himself.

When they entered the Headmasters office, the old wizard was the only one in there, seemingly talking to Fawkes who was currently perched on his desk. He looked up when they entered and smiled.

" Good morning gentlemen." He said as they seated themselves in the cushioned chairs in front of his desk. Fawkes trilled happily and moved back to his perch where he proceeded to stare at Harry.

" Good morning, Headmaster." Harry said softly. The old man's eyes twinkled brightly just as a tray of food appeared.

" It's good to see you are on your way to getting better, Harry." Dumbledore said kindly. " I took it upon myself to bring us some breakfast while we speak." He told them. " Now . . ."

* * *

About an hour later the two of them left the office, both not entirely happy about what was said. Dante was particularly angry because the Headmaster told him that the only way he would allow him to stay at Hogwarts was if he became the schools, you could say, body guard. Dante had no interests what-so-ever in protecting the school or it's inhabitants. The only one he intended to ever protect was Harry. He promised to protect Harry even before the boy was born. He had no ties to Hogwarts; the only reason why he knew Lily and hung around Hogwarts was because he knew her mother and her mother had asked him to protect _her._

Harry wasn't happy because he was forbidden to play Quidditch _and_ go on Hogsmeade weekends, in fact, he was down right pissed. He couldn't be_lieve_ the audacity of that man.

" Hey, just think of it this way," Dante said suddenly, as they walked down the hall. " You get to spend more time with me and I get to teach you some, ah, _useful_ methods of defending yourself." Dante told him.

' Really?' Harry looked up at him with interest. Dante nodded.

' To hell with all that Light magic, dark magic crap. I'm gonna teach you whatever is good for defending yourself against demons, dragons, Deatheater, and anything that will try to harm you.' He said telepathically.

' Thanks Dante.' Harry smiled gratefully.

" No problem kid."

* * *

Diagon Alley was packed with the regulars and students doing some last minute school shopping. Harry was starting to worry about being separated from Dante. The flow of people was already jostling them so Harry wasn't surprised when Dante grabbed his small hand and gently led him to the stores he needed to go to. He was sure that most kids his age would be embarrassed to have an adult holding their hand but not him. He _liked_ the feel of Dante's battle worn hand, gripping his. 

" I think this is the last place." Dante muttered. All Harry needed now was new school robes and dress robes for the festive balls Dumbledore had told him about. He already had every day clothes, thanks to Dante. " This place looks safe enough . . .I'm going to leave you for _two_ minutes. I need to hurry back over to the Apothecary. Do you think you'll be fine?" Dante asked. Harry rolled his eyes.

' I'm not a little kid, Dante. I think I'll be fine.' Dante snorted but left anyway.

" Ah, Good evening Mr. Potter!" Said a cheery woman. " Come, let's get you fitted, I'm sure you're here for the same reason as every other student." Harry stood on the stool while his measurements were magically taken. After they were done, Madame Malkin tsked, frowning at his measurements. " It seems as if you've gotten _smaller_ since the last time I saw you." She said thoughtfully. She didn't read anymore into it and instead, after getting his school robes ready, came back with a multitude of colors and fabrics for his dress robes.

For the next 10 minutes, Harry tried on almost every color of robe under the sun. Finally they _both_ agreed on emerald green robes with gold stitching and embroidery. He got black robes of a fine silk material lined in silver, more green of a different fabric and even some white robes. Harry paid her and turned to go find Dante who _should_ have been back by now.

He walked out the door and looked around the busy streets for any sign of the tall man. Harry frowned when he couldn't spot him. He should have been back a while ago. Harry thinking that Dante had gotten distracted by something or someone continued walking down the street in search of him. His search was pretty futile being that most people were taller than he would ever be.

After a while, he began to think that leaving the shop was a bad idea. It was still pretty crowded outside and even _if_ he found Dante, he'd probably never reach him. Harry sighed inaudibly and turned around to head back to Madame Malkin's to wait for Dante. However, he found his way blocked by a broad expanse of chest. He slowly looked up into the man's face and his fear slowly melted away.

' Dante, don't _ever_ scare me like that again!' Harry whined. Dante smirked slightly.

" You're lucky it was only _me_ and not someone else." Dante told him, gently grabbing him by the hand again. " You should have stayed at Madame Malkin's." They headed back to the Leaky Cauldron.

" I know." Harry said almost inaudibly. " Sorry . . ."

" Hey, you're only h—" Dante coughed a little. " So do you have anything else you need?" He asked. Harry gave him a puzzled look but shook his head. " Good. I'm tired of being around all of these—"

" Harry!" Harry jumped a little but turned around and smiled. Hermione and Ron ran up to him, big smiles plastered on their faces and, _not_ to Harry's surprise, holding each other's hands. Hermione hadn't really changed. She still had the frizzy, flyaway hair, and she was still shorter than Harry was but only by a half an inch. She was filling out nicely though and Harry had a feeling that Ron would be beating the boys off of her with a stick.

Ron himself was _still_ growing. He was only three or four inches shorter than Dante was. He was beginning to gain some muscle too, looking a lot like his brothers, Fred and George.

" How have you been?" Hermione asked, pulling him into a tight hug, practically forcing him to let go of Dante's hand. Harry tensed a bit before returning her hug.

" I've been . . .okay." Harry said, coughing a little. They pulled away from each other.

" Okay?" She repeated with concern.

" I'll tell you about it later." She barely heard him.

" Is there something wrong with your voice?" She asked.

" I hate to break up your reunion, Har, but we should be getting back. You can tell them about this later." Dante said. That was when the two finally noticed the white-haired figure standing behind Harry.

" Who are you?" Ron asked suspiciously. It wasn't everyday you saw your best friend hanging around with some strange man.

" Dante." The half demon told them. He gently took Harry's hand again and led him towards the Leaky Cauldron. Harry waved back at them apologetically. They waved as well, finding it strange that the man was holding Harry's hand.

" I'm sure he'll explain later." Hermione said slowly.

" He _better_." Ron frowned.

* * *

It was finally September 1st and Headmaster Dumbledore was in the middle of his speech. Harry sighed, bored, tired and hungry. He didn't get much sleep last night. He was too busy worrying over how to explain his summer to his friends. Hermione who gave him a stern glare jolted him from his thoughts. He rolled his eyes slightly and went back to listening to Dumbledore. 

" . . .Defense Against the Dark Arts, is Professor Lucia." The students and professors clapped politely for the new teacher, some boys wolf whistling in appreciation. She was a 5'7 woman with darkly tanned skin. Her red hair was twisted in a big ponytail and hung over her shoulder, some of her hair, covering one of her eyes. Her one visible, yellow eye showed warmth and wisdom. She was dressed in tight dragon-hide pants, calf high dragon-hide boots and a white, sleeveless shirt with a white, open cloak over it.

After she sat down, Dumbledore allowed them to eat their dinners and soon, the Hall was loud with laughter and conversation. Harry was probably the only person _not_ talking and this was unusual.

" Why aren't you talking, Harry?" Hermione asked from beside him. He looked up at her and motioned for her to come closer.

" I'll tell you and Ron later." He rasped. Hermione nodded.

" You should get that checked out, Harry. You sound terrible." She told him sympathetically. Harry only sighed.

After the welcoming feast, Harry led his friends to Dante's own little apartment in the dungeons. Harry figured it would be easier to tell them everything if Dante was there to help. Knowing his friends, they'd probably interrupt every few seconds and they'd be there all night.

Dante's apartment was tastefully done in dark red and black. The black leather couches were centered around the dark wooded coffee table in front of the fireplace. The carpeting was dark red and went around the whole main room. There were several doors that Harry knew led to the kitchen, a guestroom, and Dante's bedroom, which also had the bathroom.

" Why'd you take us down here?" Hermione said, looking around curiously. She wandered over to the bookcases that were situated in the far corner. A desk also sat against the same wall, several papers strewn about it.

" Yes, Har. Why _did_ you bring them here?" Dante said, coming from the kitchen area, dressed in torn blue jeans and a sleeveless black shirt.

" It's _you_." Ron said without thinking. Dante raised an eyebrow.

" They want to know about this summer." Harry said quietly. Dante nodded in understanding.

" Well, sit, get comfortable." He told them. " Anybody want something to drink?" They shook their heads." Too bad, Harry, you need some tea." Dante said. He went back into the kitchen and came out with a hot cup of mint tea.

" Thanks." Harry said, gratefully taking the cup and sipping it every now and then.

" So . . .what happened this summer?" Hermione asked, shifting nervously. Dante was sitting on the couch opposite of the trio, looking as if he were trying to see through her head.

For a good two hours, Dante and Harry told them about the summer and Dante's past with him and his mother. When they were told about what the Dursley's had done, they went into a rage. If it weren't for the calming tea Dante made them drink, they probably would have gone all the way to Surrey just to show them a thing or two . . .or three. Dante didn't bother telling them that he had already taken care of them.

" But you're okay now, right?" Ron asked, concernedly. Harry, whose head had been bowed most of the time, nodded.

" My throats still healing." He said. " Still hurts to speak though . . ." He coughed a little and drank the rest of his second cup of tea.

" You shouldn't speak then, you might make it permanent, or something." Ron told him.

" Yeah, I told him that the other day." Dante said.

" But how will he function in class?" Hermione asked.

" His throat's out of order, not his hands." Dante snorted. She blushed in embarrassment.

" Hey, uh, Mr.—" Dante cut her off.

" Please, just call me Dante. Mr. Is for old, cranky men." He grimaced. Harry rolled his eyes.

" Okay . . .Dante, is the only reason why you're here to protect Harry? Because, Headmaster Dumbledore didn't introduce you to the school . . ." She asked.

" I wish it _was_." He grumbled. " That old fool, told me I had to become the school's Guardian if I wanted to stay." He said. " I could care less about this decrepit old building and half the people in it." He said. Hermione seemed to be insulted and Ron looked a little red in the face. " I made a promise to his parents that I would protect him, no one else. I've got enough crap to deal with and I don't need a school full of whiny teenagers on top of it . . .not that you're crap, Harry." Dante said. Harry waved it off.

" Hn. Well, I suppose we should be heading to the common room now." Hermione said stiffly. Harry could tell that she was miffed. Dante nodded.

" See ya later, kid." Dante said, winking. Harry threw him a questioning look but didn't say anything.

* * *

Harry had a relatively decent sleep. His scar burned slightly but it wasn't anything for him to be concerned about. After showering and dressing, he and Ron met Hermione downstairs where they proceeded to breakfast. 

" Is Headmaster Dumbledore going to ever announce Dante?" Hermione asked once they settled down at the Gryffindor table and began to eat.

" Probably not . . .it's safer this way." He said softly. Hermione nodded in understanding. Of course Dumbledore wouldn't announce the school guard. That way, none of the Deatheater's children could pass on information. There was one thing she was confused about, though.

" Harry . . .why does the school need Dante anyway? He never told us that." Harry was about to reply when he noticed Seamus trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

" I'll tell you later." He said.

" Hey, Harry!" Fred called from a couple of seats down. Harry looked up from the toast he was about to bite into. " There's a Quidditch meeting during lunch, be there!" Harry sighed and nodded. He'd tell them he was off the team then. Doing it now would just cause a lot of ruckus.

By the time he was able to eat a bit of breakfast, it was already time for their first class. After their schedules were handed out, they headed out. Harry checked his and frowned. He no longer had Divination. In its place was training with Dante. He had that class on everyday of the week but Sunday.

" What the hell is training?" Ron asked, peeking at his schedule. " I don't have that . . ." Harry shrugged.

" Come on, we'll be late for Transfiguration."

* * *

By the time lunch came around, Harry was sporting a killer headache. Most of his teachers didn't make him talk too much but they couldn't ignore him. He was surprised that Snape hadn't constantly asked him questions just to spite him. Instead, the Potion's Master practically ignored him. It might have had something to do with the fact that they had Potion's with the Ravenclaw's for once or maybe Snape pitied him. 

' He better not.' Harry thought to himself. ' The last thing I need is pity.' He frowned.

" Is everything okay, Har?" He looked up and noticed that he had been standing in front of the doors to the Great Hall. Ron was giving him weird looks.

" Yeah, sorry." He coughed a bit and smiled. That was when he remembered he had to be at the Quidditch meeting. " I have to be at the Quidditch meeting." He said and ran off. The team was meeting in the common room and it looked like they had already started by the time he walked in.

" There you are! Sit down, mate." George said, scooting over on the couch. Harry smiled a little and plopped down next to the sixth year. After they passed out a couple of snacks they began the meeting.

" Well, first things first, we need a new Captain and Keeper." Katie said from her perch on the arm of the couch.

" Yeah, I know a few people who'd like to be Keeper." Angelina said. " I've seen them work. They're pretty good." Katie nodded.

" We'll hold tryout's on Saturday. I'll make the announcement later. Now for the Captain—"

" Who says Katie should do it?" Fred exclaimed. Everyone chorused their 'I do's', startling her. " The vote is unanimous, Miss Bell. What say you?" She grinned.

" I say you better be prepared because I'm going to be _worse_ than Oliver was." She smirked. The Weasley twins groaned.

" Um . . .you guys." Harry said, finally finding the time to speak.

" Yeah, Har. What's up?" He shifted nervously under their gazes.

" You're going to have to . . .er, find another seeker as well . . ." He said.

" Aw, Katie won't be _that_ bad, Harry! No need to quit on us!" Angelina joked. Harry smiled sadly.

" I'm serious. Dumbledore doesn't want me on the team anymore . . .for safety reasons." He said grimly. There was a chorus of loud protests from the whole team about this and he winced. It was only making his headache worse. Fred noticed this and calmed everyone down. Soon it was quiet again. " I'm sorry, guys." Harry said sadly. " I really want to stay but Dumbledore's convinced that I'd be safer off the team _and_ here during Hogsmeade weekends."

" That's just _cruel_." George said.

" Well . . .I guess we'll have to get a new seeker. I mean, unless we can get Dumbledore to change his

mind . . . ." Katie said. " I'd hate to lose you, Har. You're the best damn seeker _I've_ ever seen." There were

murmurs of agreement.

" Thanks Katie." Harry said, smiling. " I don't know if the headmaster will change his mind but just in case

he doesn't, still hold seeker try-outs. I can probably train them or something."

" That sounds good to me." Angelina said, nodding.

" Great! Then we'll hold tryouts on Sunday." Katie said enthusiastically. She wouldn't let something like

Harry being taken off the team bring her spirits down, no matter how much it sucked. " Is that fine with

Everyone?" She asked. No one complained.

* * *

His last class of the day was training with Dante. It took him a while to find the room he was to report to, especially since it was down a hall he had never been down before. After asking a few of the paintings he found the room and was stunned when he opened the door. The room was at least three times the size of a regular Hogwarts room, probably magically resized. The walls were adorned with various weaponry and splatters of glowing white light that illuminated the room efficiently. The floor was cushioned as he walked over it, like it was one giant firm mattress. Dante was sitting in the middle of the floor, polishing his most treasured sword, Rebellion. It lay in all of its magnificence, on his lap, shining eerily. Dante looked up as the door shut behind him and grinned. He threw the cloth down and stood, swinging his sword up to rest on his shoulder. 

" Took your good ol' time, eh?" He asked.

' I couldn't find the room.' Harry admitted. ' It would have been nice if someone was more specific about where this room was at.' Harry thought, glaring slightly. Dante rolled his eyes.

" Anyway, for the next month or so, I'll be teaching you how to wield a sword." He told him. " By the time November comes around, you'll have nearly mastered your sword type. Of course, you'll be no where _near_ as skilled as me but I believe you'll be just as quick a learner as your mother was."

" In case you don't remember, I'm not exactly in peak physically condition." Harry said softly. Dante's grin fell and he became serious once more.

" No matter how true that is, it won't hold you back much. Like I said, by the time November comes around, you'll have mastered what you need to." Dante said reassuringly.

' I'll hold you too that.' Harry grinned.

* * *

A/N: I would say I am on a roll with this updating thing but I might jinx myself. OO. so I'm just going to be glad I finally got the second chapter of this up and hope you all enjoyed it. Please review! I'll try to stay true to this new and yet familiar thing called updating. (innocently blinks) 


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